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It was a quirk in the debate, but Horgan's catchphrase isn't new in the pro rep campaign.

Premier John Horgan speaks at a rally in support of proportional representation at the Victoria Conference Centre on October 23, 2018. (Chad Hipolito/Canadian Press)

A subset of British Columbians learned two new words Thursday night: "woke" and "lit."

The source was an unlikely interpreter: B.C. Premier John Horgan.

Halfway through a heated electoral reform debate with Opposition Leader Andrew Wilkinson, Horgan argued that youth voters would be emboldened by having their vote count in a proportional representation system.

The students' union at the University of British Columbia Okanagan also embraced the same slogan as part of an outreach campaign in October. But it pulled down its ads after facing criticism from some student groups that it was biased.

About the Author

Alex Migdal is a web journalist and social media editor for CBC News in Vancouver. He's previously written for The Globe and Mail, Guelph Mercury and Edmonton Journal. You can reach him at alex.migdal@cbc.ca.